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Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Azalea Poop

This is what happens after my favorite azalea blooms . . .

It's the last azalea in the yard to start blooming at the very end of May. It opens up with blooms in both colors (yes, same plant - same branches even sometimes). The bush is large (actually there are two like this and one is large the other is in the shade and not so large) and there are hundreds of flowers. The flowers start opening one or two a day and then suddenly the bush is covered. Until it's not. Just as suddenly, all the flowers fall off at the same time and the pine straw beneath the bush is covered in this petal profusion.

In my yard I also have at least a dozen hydrangea bushes. I have more than one type, but most of them are this plane jane kind - standard all over the south.

And, in the south, they flower blue. A really pretty blue, but always blue. Landscapers love to pair them with Stella d'oro day lilies because the blue and yellow look so good together. And that is the case in my yard. I have dozens of beautiful blue hydrangeas.

Except that this year, some of them are pink. That's kind of odd for Georgia given the acidity of our soil. But one bush is giving me mostly pink flowers this year. Different, and I like it!

Another bush is giving me lavender flowers - now I really like that. Aren't they pretty?

And that same lavender bush is giving me these half and half flower balls! (And see that blue flower ball - yep, same bush.)